1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a print ink transport mechanism, and especially to a print ink transport mechanism capable of choosing different colored inks to print.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Inkjet print systems are widely used in many kinds of fax machines, printers, copy machines, and other types of office equipment. At present, the inkjet print system can be categorized into two kinds of design: one design utilizes a conjoined inkjet head and inkjet container, and another design utilizes a separate inkjet head and inkjet container. The separation type is superior for lowering the cost of printing. When the ink reservoir of the inkjet printing system in which the inkjet head and the inkjet container are separated experiences a shortage of some colored ink, the inkjet print system transports the needed colored ink from the ink tank to the ink reservoir. From the prior art, there are many ways to transport ink. For example, the invention taught by American Patent Publication No. 2005/0195240 utilizes a pin on a cap and a switching device in cooperation with a cam mechanism to meet the requirement of choosing different colors to supplement the inkjet container and transport each colored ink independently. However, this mechanism places a very strict tolerance on the switching device in order to prevent ink leakage, not to mention this mechanism has a lot of components, therefore its cost is very high.
In addition, an invention taught by American Patent Publication No. 2005/0212881 utilizes a design in which the content of the ink reservoir is greater than the content of the ink tank, and transports all colored inks from the ink tank into the ink reservoir at one time. If ink leakage happens because of a difference of pressure, a fluid ejector is utilized to eject ink, so that the problem of choosing one colored ink to supply disappears. But, because of this design, the total width of the print engine increases, and this mechanism makes the separation of the inkjet head and the inkjet container meaningless, because the weight and volume of the moving carrier increases, such that the motor driving the moving carrier consumes more power, and furthermore, because the carrier's moving distance increases, the total accuracy decreases. Therefore, a topic worth emphasizing is how to design a print ink transport mechanism capable of choosing different colored inks to print with separation of the inkjet head and the inkjet container.